''Cartoon Network Racing'' is a

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

developed by

Eutechnyx Eutechnyx Limited (formerly Zeppelin Games Limited, until 1994, and Merit Studios (Europe) Limited, until 1997) is a British video game developer based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Since 1997, the company has focused on racing games. They a ...

for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

and

Firebrand Games Firebrand Games Limited is a British video game developer based in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was founded by chief executive officer Mark Greenshields in 2006 and has operated a second office in Merritt Island, Florida, since September 2007 ...

for

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

, published by Danish video game developer

The Game Factory The Game Factory was a Danish video game publisher operating in Europe and North America. The Game Factory was founded in 2004 and fully owned by K.E. Mathiasen A/S, with headquarters just outside Aarhus, Denmark. Its titles were distributed eithe ...

, and released on December 4, 2006, in North America, and on February 9, 2007, in Europe. The gameplay is similar to Nintendo's 2003 game '' Mario Kart: Double Dash'', but the characters and racetracks are all from 6 of

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

's original animated television series: ''

Courage the Cowardly Dog ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' is an American animated comedy horror television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It was produced by Dilworth's animation studio, Stretch Fil ...

'', ''

Cow and Chicken ''Cow and Chicken'' is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the ...

'', '' Dexter's Laboratory'', ''

I Am Weasel ''I Am Weasel'' is an American animated television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network and produced at Hanna-Barbera. It is the fourth of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. The series centers on I. M. Weasel (voiced by Michael Dorn), a ...

'', ''

Johnny Bravo ''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, which aired fr ...

'', and ''

The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Televi ...

''.

Gameplay

There are two characters the player must choose: a driver, who drives a go-kart, and a co-driver, who uses all weapons and has two "toon powers". There are tournaments which players must race a series of races and win with the most points. Battle modes in arenas let two teams battle in different modes, and Cartoon Eliminators are endurance races where last kart in each lap is eliminated. The karts have three stats: acceleration, speed, and handling (if chosen as driver). If co-driver, they have two toon powers that fall into four categories: Shield, Attack, Boost and Flight. All 20 characters in the DS version get their own kart (the Powerpuff Girls have separate karts, unlike the PS2 version). Each character's toon power can be used when their toon power bar is full. There are 1-8 players available in this version. Unlike the PlayStation 2 version, there are two mini-games and three cartoons. A gallery in the PlayStation 2 version contains two cartoons from each show. The first cartoon is unlocked by completing each cartoon-themed tournament while the other is unlocked by winning the super tournament with the driver of the series the player wants to unlock.

Reception

The DS version received "mixed" reviews, while the PlayStation 2 version received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to video game

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. Lucas M. Thomas of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

criticized the DS version for its similarities to the

Mario Kart is a series of racing games developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses from the ''Mario'' series as well as other gaming franchises such as ''T ...

series, especially ''

Mario Kart DS ''Mario Kart DS'' is a 2005 kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD Group No. 1 and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in November 2005 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and on Dece ...

'', as well as for having no characters from other Cartoon Network shows that were airing new episodes at the time such as ''

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise created by Man of Action Studios, produced by Cartoon Network Studios and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The series centers on a boy named Ben Tennyson who acquires the Omnitrix, an alien device rese ...

'', '' Camp Lazlo'', '' Class of 3000'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', ''

Ed, Edd n Eddy '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' is a Canadian animated comedy television series created by Danny Antonucci for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series revolves around three friends named Ed, Edd (called "Double D" ...

'', ''

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' (also known as ''Foster's Home'', or simply ''Foster's'' for short) is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios as ...

'', ''

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It follows Billy, an extremely dimwitted, happy-go-lucky boy, an ...

'', ''

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' is an American animated television series created by Sam Register for Cartoon Network. Produced by Renegade Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, the series stars fictionalized and animated versions of the Japanese pop ...

'', ''

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee ''The Life and Times of Juniper Lee'' (also known simply as ''Juniper Lee'' or ''Witch Girl Juniper Lee'') is an American animated television series created by former MTV reality star Judd Winick for Cartoon Network and produced by Cartoon Network ...

'', ''

My Gym Partner's a Monkey ''My Gym Partner's a Monkey'' is an American animated television series created by Tim Cahill and Julie McNally Cahill for Cartoon Network. It aired from December 26, 2005, to November 27, 2008, ending with a total of four seasons and 56 episode ...

'' and ''

Squirrel Boy ''Squirrel Boy'' is an American animated television series created by Everett Peck for Cartoon Network. Before the show, Peck was known for creating ''Duckman'', which aired on USA Network from 1994 to 1997. The show premiered on May 27, 2006, and ...

''.

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

's Aaron Thomas pointed out the same version's resemblance to ''Mario Kart'', but he explained that a younger audience would find the game more enjoyable than an audience of serious gamers would.

References

External links

* {{The Powerpuff Girls Cartoon Network video games Crossover racing games Kart racing video games Nintendo DS games PlayStation 2 games 2006 video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom The Game Factory games Multiplayer and single-player video games Firebrand Games games